Elementas
by AntiqueDemon
Summary: The world has evolved to a time where only one thing rules. One game, filled with blood, tears, love, hate, and corruption. This two hundred year old game chooses five girls, each with different abilities, to participate to gain the glory of victory... AD
1. Preview

**_Demon:_** **This is my own original story for a dream I had last night, but it sort of reminded me of Avatar: the last Airbender, Tron, and the Hunger Games put together. ^_^So, please enjoy**!

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><p>This is a world where a certain sport is everyday. It is what we breathe, what we eat, and what we worship. Whether you are a player or a fan, it doesn't matter.<br>There are five players for each team.  
>Five people for each country have excelled in a sport called Elementas. They have been called together from different state teams to compete for the World Elementas Battle. But that isn't everything. This game is unlike any other. For the five players on each team have a special ability. Fire, water, air, earth, and omnia, which means "everything" in Latin. As a player who has been called to play for their country, some possess one of these skills. However, one player of the team is different. If one is a controller of omnia, they have some control over each element. They are considered the ace of their teams, but it isn't all that. Controlling every element is extremely difficult to master. Now, not everyone is born with these powers. Only a specific few across the planet have gained these special abilities and they seem to call to them, ordering them to participate in the game of Elementas. It is like an instinct pulling each individual towards it. However, only those of ages from twelve to eighteen may play this game. Otherwise, it would become dangerous.<br>Each single game makes up a match. So, in all, there are five games. Each game is played by a single competitor from a team and they are placed inside an arena to fight. Each match lasts until either one of the players in knocked out, or must be removed from play due to injury. Substitutions are allowed, but not recommended due to the fact that it will weaken the overall team. If a controller of omnia is competing with a single element user, they must only use a single element. If a match is a tie, it will be determined by having the last two standing members of a team fight to the finish. For each round, a player may take weapons onto the field, but they may be legally broken or stolen by the opponent, so bring they are brought at their own risk.  
>Countries all over the world send in their teams to fight for glory but only one team may win. The fights are placed in either an indoor or outdoor facility that may have changing scenery from time to time. This is so as to not give any single element user an advantage. Help may be given by teammates only in the form of moral support, or treatment with injuries. Each team is allowed three time outs for each game. To win a match other than knocking the other player out, one must steal the key that each player must have on their belt at all times. After the key is stolen, they must use it to unlock the door on their opponent's side and a bell will ring, sounding the end of the match. However, if a key is stolen, the master of that key is allowed to do everything they can to keep you from the door.<br>Coaches are a big part of matches, as they can give helpful advice and train the teams to be unbeatable. All coaches are also previous element users and must be over the age of 18.  
>Rules for the game:<br>- No leaving the Arena.  
>- No double players in the arena.<br>- Omnia users must use only one element when facing a single element user.  
>-When two omnia players face each other, each element usage is allowed.<br>-Weapons are allowed but not recommended.  
>- Substitutions due to injury are allowed.<br>- Flying devices are prohibited.  
>- If an opponent is knocked out, the remaining player is announced the winner.<br>- Each team has a limit of three time outs for each game.  
>- Coach appearances are required.<br>- Any form of fighting is allowed, but try and keep it clean for the viewers sake.  
>- If every player of a team is unable to compete, the other team automatically wins.<br>- Time limit of 120 minutes. If both players have not been K.O by the end, it will be decided by a single contest of the judge's decision.  
>- If it is an event where both teams are evenly matched, the win will be decided by the number of injuries inflicted to each opponent. The team with the least injuries wins.<br>- Hiding of injuries is illegal as the judge will be watching every harm inflicted.  
>- Use of abilities to assist in movement is allowed.<br>- Elements are encouraged to be used as weapons in game.  
>- A full team is required to play the match.<br>- Keys of the players must be attached to belts.

- Players who have previously participated in the tournament are allowed to continue playing as long as they are not over the age of seventeen.

Different teams are identified by the registration and decision of certain countries. Currently, the teams enlisted for the World Elementas Battle are the United States of America, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Germany, France, Canada, Japan, China, Russia, Britain, Greece, Italy, and Ireland. Many countries choose not to participate in this event due to the fact that many serious injuries occur throughout the duration of the tournament. Each player has the decision to accept or decline an offer to participate, and it can be rare at times to get a full team. As the rules state, full teams including every element are required.

It is now three months before the tournament and the teams are starting to gather. Each year, bets are made on each team, but something is different about this year. It seems that the matches have been corrupted. Everyone can tell, but the sport will not be canceled. It has been the tradition for the last two hundred years. Now, in the year 2212, a new set of games begins. With a whole new set of players.

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><p>This was only the preview. If I get one review, I'll write more. XD<p> 


	2. Ashlyn

Chapter One, Ashlyn.

Ashlyn Grace found herself being sent flying and crashing into a wall, jarring every sensation in her body and making her vision blur. Her eyes tried to focus on her opponent, a girl from the state of New York, a water user. Not the best match up, as Ashlyn's element was fire. She looked around, trying to recognize something that could help her in her position and reached for a pad that had fallen off the wall. Her hand shook but she ignored it. Her opponent was in no better shape. Burns scattered her pale skin and strands of mousy brown hair were charred and still flaming. Pale green eyes glared at her from under thick lashes and Ashlyn felt sympathy for the girl, as she was obviously exhausted. At the age of seventeen, Ash had trained her body beyond it's breaking point to endure the hardships of Elementas. So, the fact that her competitor was only thirteen did nothing to ease her guilt. Despite the fact that she was young, the girl packed quite the punch, and Ashlyn felt the effects of the fight wearing on her. She was soaked through and through, and the tidal wave that had just hit her had left her dazed, breathless, and wide open.

The girl, who's name slipped Ash's mind, advanced on her, her shoulder slumped in exhaustion and expression grim. They could both hear their teammates cheering them on and the announcers describing every part of their battle. How tiring this game was becoming. Though, Ashlyn was the last player in the match, so if she won this, it was all over and her team for the state of New Jersey would win. All she needed to do was steal this girl's key... or knock her out. Preferably, not the latter. Thinking of the key, Ash eyed the silver object that hung at the water element user's side with one eye open. She didn't have much time left to think.

"Sorry." She mouthed to the girl, who blinked in surprise. Ashlyn lifted up a hand quickly and fire roared, tumbling toward the girl, who frantically tried to put up a protective water wall. The wall did little, barely blocking her from getting burned, but sending her backward, crashing onto the ground from the force of the attack.

While Ash still had time, she struggled to her feet and raced forward, holding out a hand in warning to her opponent to stay down. The girl, Katherin, Ash recalled her name was, merely looked at her, but stayed put. Ashlyn bent down slowly, never breaking eye contact, and grabbed the silver key from her belt, quickly unhooking it and turning to run the other way, her aim being the huge black wooden door that the competing team guarded. She heard the sound of swelling water behind her and threw up a mountain of flames that crashed with the opposite element and caused an explosion that propelled her faster toward the door. When she was flung face first into it, she quickly adjusted her posture to allow hand movement and placed the key in the lock, letting the door swing open. A small bell rang and Ash collapsed then and there, panting with a huge grin on her face. Not the most difficult match her team had faced. But not the easiest either.

Her team members swarmed her, pulling her up from the floor and looking at her proudly, wide beams smacked across their faces.

"Nice job Ashy. But that little water user gave ya a run for ya money." Jillian, the Omnia user on her team laughed and patted her on the back. Her match had been quick and easy, going up against their wind user, who was only twelve, and apparently had only played once before. On the other hand, Jillian had been playing just as long as Ashlyn, and was able to use any element she wanted. For that particular game, she had chosen to use Earth. The poor girl had been carried away on a stretcher.

Ashlyn rolled her eyes and gave a breathless chuckle. She looked back to the indoor arena and saw that Katherin was being comforted by her teammates. She nodded to herself in satisfaction and looked back to her own team. Among the team was Jillian, herself, Amanda who was an Earth user, Nelly who was an airhead, or so they liked to call her, and Charlie who was their very own water element user. Charlie and Ashlyn went way back, having been friends since their toddler years. Nobody could have guessed that the two best friends would both end up being identified as element controllers and going to play for their state. Except them. As they both neared the age of twelve, they began to get interested in Elementas, watching every game on the television, and reenacting fights to each other. They were both seventeen, and they were both obnoxious teenagers who loved their sport.

Ashlyn was friendly with everyone on her team, and they all did their best every match, quickly shooting all the way up to the championships and winning today. Not everyone on her team was from New Jersey though. In fact, only she and Charlie were born and raised here. The others had only volunteered to join because the states they happened to be living in didn't have a team to compete with. Their league was pretty small actually, consisting of only three teams within the entire country of America. Other teams played in other leagues. For example, the New Jersey team played against only New York and Maine because they were the closest states that had teams. So, states all over the country that had teams that could actually participate in tournaments, played two other teams that were somewhat close to themselves. It was quite messy just to organize a match for two teams to play each other.

However, the organization came during the World Elementas Battle, where different countries entered one team to play others. It had been Ashlyn's dream just to have a shot at the Battles.

Charlie snapped her fingers and the group made way, splitting like the Red Sea.

"Alright ladies, year 2212 champions should be proper now, shouldn't we?" she made a stern expression, but it was broken when her eyebrow twitched, unable to stay humorless and stoic like they were supposed to after a match. The entire team snickered and enveloped her in a giant hug, nearly knocking the lightweight off her feet.

"'Proper'? I don't think I know the meaning of the word, right Amanda?" Nelly turned to the Earth user with a goofy smile and tilted her head to the side.

"No, I don't think you do Nells." Amanda copied her action and Ashlyn shook her head at the two.

"Okay, okay, move it or lose it! It's time for line up!" Ashlyn straightened them all into a line and they met the other team with "good games'" and smiles of appreciation. The smiles were returned, though a little less enthusiastically, and the competitors gave their congratulations.

After the match ritual was complete, Ashlyn's team gathered together to chat about their win and joke as they always did.

"I thought you were a goner for a little Ashy. Did you lose half of your brain in the floods?" Charlie said sarcastically, nodding out to the arena floor where workers were seen, doing their jobs and cleaning up the wreckage they had made in the fights. It would be difficult to replace the smoking floorboards.

"Ashy" growled playfully and swatted at her head, barely catching a few blonde strands of hair. Her emerald eyes glowed with amusement and she pushed some of her choppy dark brown hair behind her ears. For her battle, Ash had worn her customary outfit of white, body-hugging leather jumpsuit with red and orange flames drifting down her side from right under her arms. Knee and elbow pads were built into the suit, though they were nearly invisible and very thin, they provided more protection than two feet in width of steel. The suit was light and airy, despite being hard leather, and allowed swift movement without any limits due to the way it wrapped around her like a glove. On her feet were two thin, ashen colored combat boots. Of course, everything was fire proof.

Her teammates wore outfits similar to her own, but had different characteristics, like instead of being fire proof, they were water proof, and instead of having red and orange flames, there would either be green to symbolize earth or some other part to represent their element. Jillian's suit was a little different though, having red, blue, green, yellow, and purple twisting their way around her waist like a belt. Purple was the customary color for Omnia users.

Elementas players always wore special outfits like their own, due to the high amount of damage one could take in the arena. Even with these super suits, injuries were assured.

"Nyeh." Ashlyn made a noise and sat down on a bench behind her, the usual place for where audience member sat to watch the games go by. Right now, she was able to sit only because the field was down, but if she had tried it during a game, she would have been up against a solid, invisible wall, made to protect the watchers and judges. The judges were quite annoying sometimes, hiding in the crowds and giving information to the announcers secretly, so that the competing team players would never know who they were. Annoying as it was, Ash couldn't help but realize the intelligence of it. By using this strategy, it insured the safety of the judge, and the rules of the game. For if the teams didn't know who the judges were, they couldn't "convince" them to make faulty calls. Ash only thought them irritating because sometimes they would give embarrassing information that normal people wouldn't know. For example, if Ashlyn had accidentally slipped in the arena and ended up dodging an attack, the judge would let everyone know it was a coincidental action, therefor making her look less... you know.

The end score for the match had been three, two. Unfortunately, Amanda and Charlie had been beaten in their matches, having the more difficult and experienced opponents. Charlie faced their Earth user and Amanda went up against the fire user. They were good matches but quick fingers and powerful attacks had stolen Charlie's key and knocked Amanda out. Nelly battled their Omnia powered girl and won, fighting against fire and managing to knock the poor competitor out with one of her own attacks, only strengthened by air. The girl knew how to use her element.

Thankfully, medical teams were mandatory for each match played and the unconscious members were soon revived due to skilled nurses and doctors. Now, everyone on the team was fixed up, and it was Ash's turn.

A shy looking woman made her way over to Ash and sat down beside her, careful not to touch anything that might still be burning from her fire. She smiled kindly and gave an open palmed gesture, silently asking for permission to examine her. Ash nodded stiffly and unzipped her suit, shrugging it off to reveal a light gray tank top underneath. Though they were highly advanced, Ash still admired the comfortableness of olden clothing.

The nurse frowned and whistled a small, unique tune and immediately, a white, square bot with many pouches and drawers rolled over, allowing the nurse access to her supplies. Said woman reached over and pulled out the top drawer, taking out a large tube of light blue jelly.

Ash grimaced and looked down to examine her injuries herself. It was always her least favorite part of a match. Her body was covered in scrapes and blackening bruises, as well as swellings and horrible looking red and white marks that could only be identified as steam burns. Even though Ash wouldn't be burned by fire, extremely hot, heated water would definitely cause harm. Now seeing the result of her battle, Ashlyn felt the pain of each cut, each little thing and she closed her eyes, sighing and waiting impatiently for treatment. She didn't have to wait long.

Soon, she heard the funny squirting noise of the jelly and then the cooling properties it had as it was gently rubbed into her abused skin. She opened her eyes with bliss, looking at the ceiling and then down to watch the nurse's skilled fingers do their job.

Now that the jelly substance had been applied, Ashlyn was able to look at her wounds, which quickly began fading, leaving only small traces and battle scars for her to show off. When she could no longer feel the worst of her pain, she stood, stretching and smiled down at the sitting nurse.

"Thanks a ton. I don't know how you guys do it, but you certainly do it well." The nurse gave a tiny, appreciative smile and stood as well, giving a little goodbye wave and leaving to treat other players.

Ashlyn stepped out of the rest of her jumpsuit, showing off her white cotton sweatpants, causing her friends to roll their eyes. The sweatpants were slightly large on her, so they were rolled at the waist, revealing some of the inside. Her tank top was, on the other hand, a tiny bit small, gripping her stomach lightly and showing off a hint of the smooth skin underneath. It revealed her toned arms fully and it was honestly something she felt completely comfortable in.

"Jeez Ash, you seriously love the old fashioned stuff. Why don't you just go out and buy some jet proofs like us?" Amanda removed her own suit to give her a full view of the "jet proof" she had been talking about. It was basically a legging look-alike with a shiny, connected top that spread down the arms, decorated with stylish slashes and interwoven colors that almost looked touchable but felt like water on silk. The material was a very thin, very temperature adaptable and movement allowing metal that was cold when you were hot, and hot when you were cold. It regulated to your skin temperature and changed shape as you moved about. Sadly, Ashlyn had never really liked the soft, beautiful metal, not letting herself understand the slippery firmness of it. She had tried it on, sure, but it never worked for her. The material changed colors with every action, every twist, every turn.

Ashlyn shook her head, a downcast expression entering her face.

"You know that stuff only makes me uncomfortable. And besides, it looks too glittery for me. I'd end up looking down every five seconds and wondering what the shiny thing was. You know how long my attention span is, right?" She chuckled and placed her suit over her arm, letting it rest there as she put her hands on her hips.

The rest of the team quickly followed suit, showing their own jet proofs and gathered near Ash, who's features had broken into a huge smile when she saw her family.

Her brother, Colin, who was only eleven, had left school early just to see her team play in the championships. He ran toward her and she gathered him in a swooping hug, kissing his cheeks and listening to him giggle with happiness. In the year 2212, children went to school at age six, learning more than ever and completing their education at twelve, then being able to choose their career choice. Rarely did a student become a player for Elementas. But it was probably the highest, and lowest paying job in the world. As long as someone played the sport, all of their expenses were paid for, including clothing, food, housing, and entertainment. All they needed to buy things was their I.D to prove that they played Elementas. Any extra money was not allowed though. There was never any solid bills to hold, no evidence that she actually had anything to purchase with. However, after playing for six years, an element user could either go on to be a coach, which usually happened, or get a normal job in the world. The curious thing was, Element users weren't decided by hereditary means. They just happened to get those abilities and keep them, even after their six years.

"Ash, you were awesome! Next year, when I graduate from school, I want to play Elementas!"

Ash frowned at him.

"Colin, remember we talked about this? You don't have control over an element, so you can't play. Maybe you could be a judge though." She added, hoping not to lower his spirits too much.

Colin nodded happily and Ash could practically see the fantasies in his head, giving information to the announcers and watching each game intently.

Ash's mother and father approached her at a leisurely pace, soft smiles of congratulations on their lips. But they never got to give their praise.

A man, dressed rather expensively, stepped in front of Ashlyn's view of her parents and smiled, though it was meant to be welcoming, it was snakelike and cold. He had blonde hair, cropped close to the back of his head, and calculating blue eyes. His build was small, but you would never know that with the amount of skin the man held. His body was almost overflowing with fat.

"Miss Grace. Very nice to finally meet you in person. Forgive me for the abrupt introduction, but my name is Miles. Miles Sanders. I was the judge for your match today and I've been asked to give you some very exciting news. You, my dear, have been chosen to represent your country and play in the World Elementas Battle. Isn't that exciting?"

Ashlyn stared at him, still holding her brother, her mouth hanging open.

"What now?"


	3. Julie

Chapter 2, Julie.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW! Jesus Mama! Could you please _not_ try to rip my hair out! That hurts!" Julie Tivess whined to her mother, who had spent the last five minutes trying to brush down the wild red curls piled at the small of her daughter's back.

"I'm sorry honey, but this is why I told you to cut it! You wouldn't be having this problem if your hair was shorter. You would actually be able to reach the ends!" Her mother raised one eyebrow, still focusing greatly on her task. She wove a blue brush through Julie's tresses, turning on the motioning needles to try and weave out the mess that Julie's neglected hair had created.

"Daddy didn't ever want me to cut my hair, so I'm not going to." Julie crossed her arms stubbornly and puffed out her cheeks, looking a bit like a hamster as she did. She was quite petite and innocent looking, with mounds of untamed red curls and freckles scattered all over her pale ivory skin. Her eyes were a shining, dazzling sky blue that seemed to look into a person's very soul. Even though she was small, her inner beast was brought out when playing her sport, Elementas. She controlled the element water, and she was extremely aggressive when it came to competitions and games. She hated losing more than anything. Julie played for the team of Texas, even though she had been born and raised in Louisiana.

After Julie's retort, her mother had fallen silent, and Julie felt like she wanted to apologize, but wouldn't because she knew what would happen. After her father had passed away, everything became difficult for her mother, especially when Julie became an element user. Her mother had been forced to take a second job to sustain her youngest daughter, Lucy, and herself. Of course, Julie never had to worry because of the expenses paid, courtesy of the Elementas sport. However, she wasn't able to pay for her family as well, something that never ceased to make her guilty.

A short while passed while Julie played with the hem of her jet proof, decorated in small flowers and random designs. The Summer weather had been kind to her this year, not causing damage to her almost translucent skin. Possibly, it was from all of the sunblock her mother forced her to wear. Even though time had progressed and civilization advanced, sunburns were still a problem. As were some forms of Cancer. Although, the disease of AIDS had a cure by the time the fifty sixth president had been sworn in. Anyone with it had been treated, but the science behind it was something that Julie never knew, nor had much interest in. She was never one for health or science class. History and gym were more up her alley. Once she had graduated from school however, she abandoned her studies and began to play for the state of Texas. As soon as she was done with her six years, Julie had a plan not to become a coach, but a teacher for children with learning disabilities. A curious job for an Elementas player indeed.

"So, uh, where's Lucy? I thought she ended school early today." Julie's younger sister Lucy was only seven, and she adored school, and absorbed information like a sponge. Julie would never have admitted it, but she admired her sibling's hunger for knowledge, and her interest in things that would have put Julie to sleep in under two minutes.

"Oh, Lucy went over to her friend Jan's house today. She's been sick and Lucy wanted to check on her. Isn't that sweet?" Her mother spoke absently and finished her job, setting the brush down with a triumphant air and a victorious smile. She patted her daughter on the head and walked off to do motherly things.

"Yeah, wonderful..." Julie spoke bitterly and got up from her place in her vanity chair. She eyed her blue brush, which was full of her fiery hair, and tore the excess pieces out, putting them in the garbage with a little flair and toss.

Her little sister had always been her mother's favorite, it was obvious. While Lucy was a perfect, adorable little angel child, Julie was always in some sort of trouble, no matter the circumstances. Despite her outward appearances, Julie was able to be quite venomous, especially to her sister who was only three year younger than her, making Lucy twelve years old and still as innocent as sugar. The sweetness that Lucy showed to everyone was unbearable for Julie. Why couldn't the girl just grow up?

"Mom, can I have some pancakes please? I never had any breakfast!" She called to her mother, throwing her hair over her shoulder and standing so she could get to her book pile.

"Yes honey! Just give me a minute!" She groaned at the response and picked up the blue book at the top of the pile. It read: "Breaking Dawn" by Stephanie Meyers. Not many people read anymore, but Julie always loved the activity, and at the moment, she was reading about the sparkly vampires who were vegetarians. When she first picked up the book, she had rolled her eyes and looked inside because she was bored. Though her opinions changed not far through.

She opened up to her bookmarked page and began reading, immediately being caught up in the thickly romantic scene. The colorful words jumped out at her and her eyes scanned the pages quickly, absorbing every detail. Before she knew it, half an hour had passed and she set down the book, looking around with slightly stale eyes. However, as soon as her mother walked in with a plate of four steaming pancakes with butter and syrup, they lit up and her mouth began to water.

"Thanks Mommy!" she jumped up from her chair and pecked her mother on the cheek before gently taking the plate from her hands and setting it on her desk. Her mother smiled and rolled her eyes, stepping forward to place the napkin she had also been holding next to the plate.

"You're welcome. Not shut up and leave your mother alone. I'm going outside to garden." She smacked Julie on the butt with a cheeky grin and walked out, her own strawberry curls dancing around her shoulders.

"Aye Aye Mrs. Brown thumb." Julie sat down and stuck her tongue out at her mother, who ignored her and stepped out of the room entirely.

As soon as she heard the door to outside click closed, Julie began scarfing down the hot breakfast food, her stomach growling in approval. As she ate, she thought of her team, and how they hadn't had a game in ages. The last one had been weeks ago, and they were all restless for a practice, anything! The World Elementas Battle wasn't for five months, so she didn't have anything to watch on television either. Now that she thought of it, she wondered who the new players for America were going to be. Rumor had it that the fire user had already been chosen a week ago, right after a game too. Envy shot through her like a bullet, but she suppressed it. Her team wasn't even close to winning a state championship, and that made it that much harder to get noticed for choosing. The likelihood of Julie becoming a national player was almost a million to one. But she still hoped...

She finished her pancakes in record time and cleaned up, placing her fork and knife onto the plate and wiping her mouth daintily. Then she proceeded to sling her pouch bag over her shoulder and carry the dishes downstairs. Her house was shaped quite oddly, looking a little bit like a triangle. The inside was spacey and wide, only forming into pointed tips at the walls, and three floors fit inside. Julie's room was on the second, her mother's on the third.

On the outside, they had three overhanging porches for each floor, and many parts of the triangular shape were awkward, neither equal nor irregular. It was an optical illusion for both the brain and eye, something that was bound to confuse anyone who looked at it.  
>She laughed suddenly and softly, remembering the comment her dad had first said to her when they bought the house. He had laughed just as she did and leaned in close to her ear, letting his peppermint breath float across her nose and his scratchy beard tickle her cheek.<p>

Spoken softly, he had said, "We live in a wonky pyramid, you know." A small and sad smile danced on her lips when she though of him. He had died only a few years ago of Yamiitis; a disease that shut down your body, organ by organ. A shudder passed through her and her smile faded as she remembered the last days she had spent with her father, sitting at his bedside, staring into his yellow hued eyes. His last few days were spent lying down, waiting for anything to happen. And she hadn't been able to comfort him. To tell him he wasn't going to die. To tell him he wasn't alone.

She had failed him. Those words of comfort had never been whispered to him, and still he had died with a smile on his face. Tears pricked at her eyes as she tried to resist the images of her father's last breath that always accompanied her thoughts of him. Shying away from her sentimentality, Julie took a shaky breath and stepped forward, carrying everything steadily down the steps. She reached the bottom with her thoughts roaming to other topics and walked into the kitchen. There, she placed her dishes in the sink and went outside to look for her mother. Before she could go however, the phone that resided in the kitchen rung and she heard her mother's voice calling for her to pick it up.

Sighing dramatically, Julie dashed across the kitchen to grab the phone.  
>"Hello, Tivess residence, how may I help you?" She spoke calmly and receptionist-like, her tone only slightly sarcastic.<p>

"Is that you Julie? I've been trying to get a hold of you for ages! Where have you been?" The voice on the other end was shrill and panicked, making Julie pull away from the phone.

"Um, who is this? I can't recognize a voice when it's screaming." She rolled her eyes and leaned on the counter.

"Oh shut up no brain! You know it's Sheryl. And you will not believe what just happened to me! I was just in town and Robert Feriolli was asking around, _looking for you!_" At this, Julie almost dropped the phone.  
>"Robert Feriolli? Are you kidding me? He's an Elementas World Battle scout! Why the heck would be be looking for me?" Her voice rose at least three octaves and her eyes widened in surprise.<br>"I dunno dummy. Maybe to _scout you_?"

"Shi-" She was interrupted before she could get the curse out.  
>"Yes, yes, I know. Now get your butt in gear girl!" Nodding even though Sheryl couldn't see, Julie dropped the device and tried to calm her racing heart. She ran out into the garden she had just been about to enter and called out for her mother.<br>"Mom! Mom! Sheryl just called and said something amazing!" She yelled out, her feet racing down the patio steps that lead to their flower and cobblestone garden.

Her mother looked up slowly and smiled. "We _are_ talking about Sheryl, aren't we, darling?"

"Don't be mean Mommy! Anyway, she just said that Robert Feriolli is looking for me! _Me_!" She jumped where she was and landed in front of her mother, giddy with excitement. Her mother looked at her with wide eyes and she opened her mouth, only to close it again. She looked a bit like a fish out of water, but soon impatience got the better of Julie.

"Momma! Say something!" She tapped her foot in quick repetitive patterns, frown deeply etched on her features.

"...Well it's about time!" Her mother beamed widely and dropped her tools, coming forward to hold Julie in a hug. She squealed with excitement, all irritation gone as she squeezed her mother back tightly.

"We have to go find him! Now! He's probably bored of looking for me!" Julie wiggled in her mother's grasp and was released.  
>"Then let us go! I'll get my keys!" Was the response her mom gave her and she hurried into the house to grab said vital car driving equipment. All the while, Julie stood in the middle of the garden with a goofy smile plastered on her face.<p> 


End file.
